


Echoes

by 2nerd4this, CynicalRainbows



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Angst, Dreams and Nightmares, Family, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, Memories
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-19 00:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29866371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2nerd4this/pseuds/2nerd4this, https://archiveofourown.org/users/CynicalRainbows/pseuds/CynicalRainbows
Summary: In which troubling dreams threaten the peace of the house.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	Echoes

It was a cold winter morning when the distinct change in the house finally became unignorable, at least to the Queens. To an outside observer, it had been clear that something had been going on in the home for a month or so now, but the lines are always blurred to the ones involved.

(Later, Kitty would compare it to “that thing that happens when you’re home alone and you keep turning the heating up because you’re cold and then everyone comes home and complains that the house is like a sauna.”

“Or like the frog in the pan of boiling water,” Cathy had chipped in helpfully. “You know, not noticing it’s being boiled alive until it’s too late.”

Kitty looked askance at her.

“What? Is that a thing? That’s horrible! The poor frog!”

“That’s not the point-”

“Tell that to the frog!”)

Out of nowhere, tempers had grown shorter and tongues sharper, jokes had become just barbed enough to put everybody slightly on edge. No one could put their finger on exactly when it had begun but suddenly Jane realized, as she made her solitary sandwich lunch, that she couldn’t remember the last time all six of them had sat down for a meal together. Cathy opened up her laptop and wondered why she was suddenly more productive…..and then realized that it was because she was no longer being interrupted every twenty minutes. And Anna noticed that her late night runs were no longer eliciting the same murmurs of concern and that no one had made her promise to “run fast from the murderers” for some time.

Somehow, the peace of the house had begun to fray around the edges.

The mornings in the household were always somewhat muddled, with murmured greetings, groggy movements and the occasional mumbled curse as someone walked into a wall or stubbed their toe through inattention, but on that particular morning, everyone seemed slower than normal, as if their minds were elsewhere. 

Catalina, who was usually quick to greet the others with a warm smile and a wave, was sat at the counter staring aimlessly out the window at the less-than-inspiring sight of Jane’s bedraggled begonia’s beginning savaged by next-door’s ill-tempered tabby, when Jane came down the stairs.

“Morning.”

“Hm? Oh yes.”

Catalina barely looked up at Jane’s less-than-enthusiastic greeting and when Cathy slouched in a few steps behind her, rubbing her eyes and blinking owlishly, she didn’t even turn around.

“Coffee-”

Cathy made a beeline towards the Nespresso and went to grab a mug.

“Fuck!”

There was a clatter of crockery; Cathy’s favorite teacup lay in shards at her feet. Jane, wrenched out of her own thoughts, immediately went to grab the dustpan.

“Are you ok? Don’t move-”

“Mija, are you alright?” Finally focusing, Catalina moved towards her goddaughter, hands outstretched- and Cathy flinched. It was almost imperceptible- a tiny tightening of her muscles before she relaxed again and shook her head.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just- clumsy.”

Still, she didn’t meet Catalina’s eyes.

She gave a little laugh that only sounded slightly forced and let Jane sweep up the mess from around her bare feet.

“Thanks Jane.”

“You’re welcome love. Sorry about your cup.”

“It’s fine, I should probably shower anyway before I have another stab at breakfast…”

“Are you sure you didn’t cut yourself mija?”

And there it was again, the tiniest movement away, a subtle drawing back that Catalina sensed rather than saw.

“I’m  _ fine _ . Just…. I’m ok.”

Cathy disappeared and Catalina slowly returned to her seat.

_ How odd. _

The front door slammed- Anna, back from her early morning run. Catalina glanced at the clock- strange for Anna to be back so much earlier than usual. She wondered if she’d cut her run short for some reason, but the sweat-soaked hair and flushed cheeks told a different story. 

“There’s coffee, Anna.”

There wasn’t much hope in Jane’s voice- Anna had forgone her old routine of a leisurely cup before she dragged herself upstairs to shower in favour of taking her drink upstairs weeks ago. Today, she didn’t even get that: Anna went straight upstairs, ignoring them both completely.

“We’ll save you some if you change your mind,” she called.

Anna didn’t even turn around.

It was that... incredibly uncharacteristic action... that finally caused another Queen to suspect that something was rather horribly, catastrophically wrong. 

Jane’s eyes widened as she stared after the fourth Queen, mind reeling and freezing at the same time. After a moment, she glanced at Catalina questioningly, but she had known the older woman long enough to recognize the thoughtful expression on her face and wisely decided against interrupting her thoughts.

Instead, she chose to file that tidbit of odd information into the back of her mind and returned to preparing breakfast, but as the morning went on, she found herself unable to focus, her mind suddenly pulling her back to various out of character things she suddenly remembered observing in the others over the past weeks. 

_ Why were they acting so oddly? _

(Of course, not once did she consider her own inconsistencies-

...The mornings spent in isolation, dreading the walk downstairs...

...How she hesitated before speaking, especially to her cousins, in a way she hadn’t since very early on in this new life...

...The way her stomach churned at the very thought of failure, of seeing the merest hint of judgement in the eyes of her new housemates...

Those never crossed her mind. That was, after all,  _ different. _ )

As for Catalina, she remained lost in thought, pondering everyone’s odd behavior and mulling over her budding concerns, and soon found herself with an empty plate and coffee dregs. Without much thought, she drifted to the sink and instinctually continued on with her usual morning routine, mechanically trudging up the stairs and to the bathroom, lost in thought.

It wasn’t until Anna appeared at the foot of the stairs, hairbrush and towel in hand, that she shook herself from the trance she had fallen into. The younger Queen appeared much more like her usual self and they jumped right back into their usual banter.

“Catty! I meant to tell you, I saw the most gorgeous greyhound as I was running. You would have loved her!”

“Anna, mija, no matter what you say, I am absolutely not going to take up running with you. Not at six in the morning.”

“Oh come on! You’d like it, I know you would, there’s a lady from a couple of streets away who has the loveliest Alsation-”

“Are you sure this is a concern for me? Or do you just want a running partner?”

“I can’t  _ believe  _ you think I have an ulterior motive!”

As they talked, all previous concern slipped from her mind.

It was fine. It was all fine.

\---

It was so sudden and reeling that Cathy couldn’t catch her breath. 

She had been ascending the stairs on autopilot, lost in her thoughts, and just happened to look up at the wrong time. As she reached the top landing, her gaze landed on Catalina, and without warning, her heart stopped.

The eldest Queen wasn’t looking at her. In fact, she didn’t even think she noticed her as she and Anna joked and laughed while waiting for the bathroom, but that didn’t stop Cathy’s brain from doing... whatever it was doing. Adrenaline surged through her and her hands started to shake. She knew somehow, with icy certainty, that she needed to get out.

As her sudden panic grew, Cathy couldn’t control the impulse to run, nor did she want to, so without hesitation, she bounded up the last few steps, pushed past Anna and disappeared into her room, slamming the door behind her.

The moment she heard the door close, she allowed her legs to give way underneath her, collapsing to the floor and immediately pulling her knees to her chest. Her mind had gone hazy as the image of her godmother’s laughing face clouded her vision, even as she clamped her eyes shut. 

A foggy memory drifted to the surface of her mind, of her godmother laughing….no, laughing  _ at  _ her, cold and cruel, and an overwhelming sense of fear and rejection settled in her stomach. Somehow though, try as she might, she couldn’t  _ place _ the memory. Last month? Last year? Could the echoes of some old forgotten argument possibly be why she’d been feeling so odd around Catalina lately- why suddenly her touch had made Cathy want to flinch, why even hearing her voice made her stomach clench? Maybe.

Hazy as it was, the pain was sharp enough to make her eyes sting. She wished she could remember where it had come from- and why she was only remembering it now. It was becoming clearer now. As the memory expanded, her senses became overwhelmed and reality started to blur. 

_ The fug of cheap cologne clogged the teenager’s senses, overwhelming her the minute she entered the house. A sense of dread settled in her stomach, and the spiffy, brightly-shined work-boots by the door only heightened her anxiety. She could hear the voice of her guardian in the kitchen, the usual softness that she had become accustomed to in her years living with the woman gone without a trace, leaving only the flirty lilt behind that she had recently begun to adopt whenever she spoke to Him. _

_ (It often felt like she only ever spoke to Him now.) _

_ She was a nice woman, her guardian, and always claimed to have the girl’s best interests at heart, but ever since her new boyfriend had appeared, everything had changed, whether she acknowledged it or not.  _

_ (She didn’t. She’d tried to bring it up to her once and been scolded for making a fuss about nothing before being sent to her room. She hadn’t tried to bring it up since.) _

_ A woman’s laughter echoed down the hall, followed by a far too familiar deep chuckle and the sound of ice clinking against glass that caused the girl to tense in place, even as she tried to silently shut the front door behind her. Instinct told her that it was a bad day- if he’d started drinking already, then she would be much better off in her room, far away from the sneer of her new tormenter or, somehow worse, the judgemental and disappointed eyes of his girlfriend, the woman who had once been her protector. _

_ Luck, unfortunately, did not seem to be on her side today. Try as she might to conceal her hiss after stubbing her toe, the sound carried through the old house, and she didn’t have to look up to know that the adults of the house were now standing in the hallway, laughter suddenly cut short, watching her in disdain. _

_ ‘What on earth are you doing home so early, chica?” the unnaturally smooth voice of her guardian drawled. _

_ “It was a half day today. Like I told you this morning.” _

_ “And you expect me to just believe you? Are you sure it wasn’t another one of your lies?”  _

_ She laughed harshly and the man joined in. _

_ “I’m not lying!” _

_ “I thought you were going to let us have some peace and quiet to make it up to us….but obviously not.”  _

_ “I was telling you the truth!” _

_ “Now don’t start all that silliness again.” _

_ “But-” _

_ “I mean it. Stop it now, before I start getting cross.” _

_ The man tutted, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see him wrap his arms possessively around the shorter woman in front of him.  _

_ “Listen to your godmother. You’ve caused both of us enough trouble as it is with your stories.” _

_ ‘Godmother’ _

_ The word plucked at something deep inside her, causing the girl’s head to shoot up, despite her reservations, and the moment her eyes met the woman’s, something within her cracked. _

_ Her dark curly hair, her piercing gaze, her confident stature... everything was off. She had never seen this woman before, and yet... there was something familiar, too familiar, and she screwed her eyes shut, trying to wipe the image from her mind. _

_ ‘Guardian’....’Chica’......’Godmother’.........’Madrina’ _

Catherine Parr’s eyes flew open and her spine snapped up straight, forcing her back against the door and hitting her head. 

She could swear she could still smell the cloying cologne hanging in her air.

_ What’s happening to me? _

Her hands, balled into fists, slammed against the floor as her body tried desperately to rid itself of the adrenalin that was rushing through her, her last scraps of sanity fighting a losing battle to maintain the boundary between dream and reality.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> (oh also I need everyone to know that the whole 'writers always wish they could walk back to more words on their doc' thing never completely hit me until I opened this doc and there were more words! That I didn't write! It was wonderful!)-2nerd4this


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